Obliterations and Postmarks

The Stamps of Jammu-Kashmir by Alexander Séfi and C.H. Mortimer, pp 210-47.

Introduction. The chronology, according to type, of the cancellations of the native State is of great importance to the collector and, in order to appreciate this, two preliminary points have to be recognised. The first of these is that the postal system of Jammu-Kashmir was originally carried on by six post offices only, three native and three British; and the second, that additional post offices, mainly native, were established from time to time to meet the growing demand for increased postal facilities, until the mails were being ultimately dealt with by more than 70 post offices, each employing its own particular types of cancellation. The total postal period of 28 years divides naturally into three clearly defined periods, which we shall deal with in detail. Before doing so, we shall endeavor to make the position somewhat more intelligible,by giving a general outline of the peculiar features of each period as follows:

(a) The First Period (1866-79). At the native post offices, no postmarks were employed. All stamp-cancellation at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh was done with seal obliterators. At other native post offices established later, the cancellation was done in pen-and-ink. At the British post offices, cancellations of Sialkot (for Jammu), Srinagar, and Leh were struck by postmarks or special stamp-obliterators formed of English letters and numerals.

(b) The Second Period (1879-90). At the native post offices, seals were superseded by other obliterators of various types used in company with postmarks composed of native character. At the British post offices, the old postmarks and obliterators continued, being superseded from time to time by others of different types.

(c) The Third Period (1890-94). Or “unified” period. All post offices, whether native or British, were supplied with a uniform type of postmark. The use of special obliterators was now discontinued, the postmark being used for stamp-cancellation.

First Period 1866-79

It will be noticed that the cancellations of the first period (1866-79) cover the whole of the circular and old rectangular issues and, in addition, the first year of the New Rectangulars also, while the second and third periods relate to the New Rectangulars only. We now take each of the three periods rather more fully.

The seals of the native post offices of Jammu, Srinagar (for Kashmir) and Leh (for Ladakh) have already been dealt with. We here add that all the seal-impressions were in watercolours and now give a table of reference that may be of service to collectors in their classifications up to 1879:

(a) A small circular seal in brick-red proves a Kashmir use between 1866 and November 1877. It may be either that of Srinagar or Leh, but, almost certainly, of Srinagar.

(b) A large circular seal (28 mm) can only be that of Leh, though the seal of Poonch is sometimes mistaken for it. It was printed in red, for, probably, about a year (1866-67) and, thereafter, in black.

(c) A small circular seal in magenta proves a Jammu use between 1866 and 1868.

(d) A small circular seal in black may belong to either Jammu or Kashmir. If the province can be determined by the details of the seal-impression (a most improbable event) or by reference to other postmarks on a cover, the period of 1868-70 will be proved for the Jammu seal, and 1878-79 for the Kashmir one.

(e) A square black seal with rounded corners shows a Jammu use between 1870 and 1879. It occurs, therefore, not only on the circulars and old rectangulars, but also, as in the case of the small black circular seal of Kashmir, on the earliest of the New Rectangulars.

The British post offices of the first period include, in addition to those at Srinagar and Leh, the Punjab Circle Office of Sialkot. This Sialkot office acted as a clearing-station for the mails from the Jammu Province in which no British post office was established, and its cancellations, therefore, become of primary importance in dealing with the chronology of all the Jammu issues. The British cancellations contemporary with the native seals took the form of postmark + obliterator, the obliterator being intended to cancel the stamp. Normally the two were fixed in a holder and used separately, and the postmark itself was commonly used for stamp-cancellation. Such usage was, to some extent, more or less indiscriminate, but it would seem to have been the more general practice to employ only the obliterator where only a native stamp required cancellation, the combination being generally reserved for covers franked with both British and native stamps. But although we find native stamps with British cancellations and, though rarely, the native seals on British stamps, it must not be assumed that any issue of both British and native stamps was ever made to the same post office. We feel assured that this did not, in fact, occur, but the point has not been raised by previous writers. The British postmarks of this period usually included the year, but this was frequently omitted particularly towards the end of the period. They were normally applied in black, but often in red also. The British obliterations were always in black and never, with some rare exceptions at Leh, in watercolour.

British Office Srinagar (1st Period)

[Copyist's note: No updating commentary or errata have been added to this now somewhat dated account, which is still very much worth reading.]

Type 1 + 2 (1867-70). These were probably in use during 1866, but are not yet known in this year during which, it may be, the British post office had not been established at Srinagar. Both postmark and obliterator were commonly used for cancelling the native stamps.

Type 3 + 4 (1871-75). The old spelling, “Cashmere” was retained. Impressions in red are occasionally met with. The day and month are frequently omitted. The postmark and obliterator seem, again, to have been used indiscriminately for cancelling the native stamps.

Type 5 (1873-74). This was some special mark, but its functions are not known. It was very rarely employed and is so seldom found, even on covers, that its philatelic importance is small. Masson gave the date of its issue in Kashmir as “about 1873.” It formed part of a series of similar small triangular postmarks allotted to various post offices in British India, of which one is known from “Sealcote” in February 1870. [Copyist’s note: The detail above is from a Calcutta-bound cover (without British postage) in the Hellrigl collection, dated October 1871. ]

Type 6 + 7 (1875-80). In May 1875, a third combination of postmark and obliterator was issued. It lasted until July 1880, and therefore slightly beyond the first period. It is, consequently, found on the earliest of the New Rectangular stamps. The postmark is notable for the change of spelling from “Cashmere” to the new Hunterian rendering “Kashmir,” which now continues until the abolition of the posts. As in the preceding cases, the postmark and obliterator could be used in conjunction (as illustrated), or separately. The fact is important for the postmark closely resembles others of later date which were continued until July 1882 (in combination with a different obliterator). In the type shown here, the letters are larger than those of any other postmark, measuring, exclusive of the stop, 19 mm in length.

The British Office Leh (1st Period)

Types 8 + 9 (1878?-83). Very little is known of the Leh cancellations of the British post office established at that town. The above types were both in use during 1878, and probably somewhat earlier. The postmark and obliterator were used independently of each other, the latter being seldom employed. At first, both types were struck in a pale greyish-brown watercolour giving blurred, and often barely legible impressions, but oil-black was used at a later period. [Copyist’s note: The example of the Leh cds was taken from a March 1882 cover, Bard collection.]

The British Office Sialkot (1st Period)

Type 10 (1866-67). This postmark was in use at the Punjab office when stamps were first issued in Jammu-Kashmir, and is commonly found on covers franked with the first ½a black circular stamps. It was struck in either black (despatch) or red (arrival).

Types 11 and 12 (1866-67). These marks appear to be rare, the circle particularly so. They were used both in combination and separately and, apparently, in black only.

Type 13 and 14. These appeared in 1866. One of each was usually struck on the same cover, probably denoting arrival and departure. They were impressed sometimes in red, sometimes in black, and not infrequently in both.

Type 15. The U-26 obliterator appeared with the two preceding postmarks and lasted until 1868 or later. It seems to have, almost invariably, been used independently of the postmarks which were struck separately on any convenient space on the cover. We have only seen it in black. This type may easily be confused with another of very similar appearance which was issued in the seventies (Type 57). [Note: The marking is also known in violet in December 1868.]

Type 16 [refers to the “54” obliterator section only.] This seems to have replaced the U-26 obliterator, in or before 1872, for use with the Types 13 and 14. We have only seen it in black. [Detail is from a cover in the Hellrigl collection, ed.]

Type 17. This [SEALCOTE] type is like Type 5 of Kashmir [CASHMERE].

Type 18 + 19. In 1874 Type 18 superseded Types 13 and 14, and lasted for some three years, the spelling ‘Sealkote’ being the one retained. It occurs with the addition of “Delivery”, either 1st or 2nd as in some later types of Kashmir. The Type 19 obliterator was issued with the postmark shown and, with it, remained in use during a part of the second period, together with other types. This obliteration is often of great importance to the collector. It may, when indistinct, be easily mistaken for the L-3-3 of Leh (Type 9). But Type 19 has three bars at the bottom, the Leh obliteration having only two. In 1877 a fresh change of spelling to ‘Sialkot’ was made, and subsequently remained unchanged.

Type 20 (1877-84). This postmark [with stop] is found on covers with the L-3 obliterator, which appears to have been used more or less indiscriminately, and can rarely be depended on to afford any certain guide in chronology.

Type 21 and 22 were chiefly used during the second period. [Copyist’s note: We do not know which of the several horizontal SIALKOTs the authors intended for these two types. Séfi & Mortimer’s none-too-accurate drawings can be seen in Staal p 139.]

The Second Period 1879-90

The native post offices of both provinces discontinued the seals in 1879 and adopted native forms of “postmark & obliterator.” The postmarks were in native characters, which gave the names of the post-towns, months and days of each month. They did not, however, include the year, and this omission renders them of little use to the philatelist. The obliterators usually show an arrangement of bars enclosing some native symbol, and those of Jammu owing to their periods being known, afford much greater information in regard to chronology than do any of the postmarks. Normally all impressions were in black, but occasionally also in violet, and both colours occur not infrequently in watercolour. The British post offices of this period continued the old postmarks and obliterators, superseding them from time to time by others of different types. From 1879 (as for some years previously) to 1883, the year was consistently omitted from the postmarks. Year-dating was definitely resumed in 1883 but, even after this date, the year was frequently omitted by the post office at Leh and, occasionally also, by those at Srinagar and Sialkot.

The Native Office in Kashmir (2nd Period)

Type 23 + 24. On the withdrawal of the old seal obliterators, types similar to this were alloted in August 1879 to Srinagar, Gilgit, Skardu and nother native offices in Kashmir. [The example here is Skardu.]

Type 25 + 26. Kashmir [~ Srinagar.] Impressions were rarely made except in black insoluble ink, but watercolour was occasionally employed at some offices in 1886-87. These types never showed the year in the postmark and are, therefore, of little assistance to collectors.

Type 27 + 28. [Copyist’s note: This is the Sialkot duplex that the authors attributed erroneously to Jammu.]

The Native Office at Leh (2nd Period)

The preceding types were not, we believe, issued to Leh. The history of the Leh office which was, as we have noted, sufficiently obscure during the seal period, now becomes still more so. We have examined over a hundred covers despatched from Leh during the 15 years of our second and third periods without finding a single instance of a native cancellation; in every case the British post office has proved to have been the transmitting station. This remarkable fact, coupled with the extreme rarity of the Leh seals inclines us to the belief that the native office may have ceased to function at some very early period. It could scarcely have been entirely abolished for, in that case, native as well as British stamps must have been actually issued to the British office, a procedure which, in our opinion, would have been distinctly improbable. A more likely alternative would perhaps be that the superior facilities offered by the British organisation for covering the long and arduous journey from Leh to Jammu or Srinagar had, from some early date, brought about the abolition of the native messengers, thereby limiting the duties of the native office to the receiving and stamping of letters, and of handing these over to the British office for cancellation and transmission.

The Native Office at Jammu (2nd Period)

Type 29 (1878-90). The illustration shows the type of the first postmarks to native offices in Jammu. Masson gave the date as about July 1878, but this may have been a month or two earlier. The type was issued to a number of offices, the names of which are given by the characters in the upper row, those in the centre giving the month and, at the bottom, the day of the month. The year was never shown in any of these postmarks. For the first few weeks, Type 29 was used in company with the old square black seal obliterator of Jammu City, after which the latter was superseded by Type 30.

Type 30 and 31 (July 1879-88). The barred-minim obliterator—so called by Masson owing to the resemblance of the central symbol to the minim of music-notation—is, in a philatelic sense, the most important of all Jammu obliterations of the second period. It was used from the native post office at Jammu City, where it superseded the square seal in July 1879—and remained in use for nine years, become more and more worn as time went on, until impressions finally appeared as in Type 31 [above right, in the form of a Staal-Sharma restrike, ed.] Impressions were always in insoluble ink and, with rare violet exceptions, in black. Masson gave the date of the withdrawal of this obliterator as “about the middle of 1887” but it was certainly in use for a year later than this. We have seen it on covers of 1888, the latest occurrence being on 30th June.

Type 32 (1878-79). This obliterator and Type 33 following had a very brief existence in the earliest days of the second period. Both were apparently issued for some special reason, but they are rarely met with, and nothing is known of their history. Masson stated that they had been employed “instead of the standard ones,” meaning, presumably, the preceding postmark and barred-minim obliterator of Jammu City. We find, however, no break in the continuity of the latter, and are confident that it was not superseded but, for some reason, supplemented by the subjects of our illustrations. The inscriptions of Type 32 are in Persian within a single-lined octagon. Owing to the difficulty in obtaining a sufficiently distinct impression we are, as also was Masson, unable to give a translation. All known impressions of Type 32 (and Type 33 following) are in black watercolour.

Type 33 (1878-89). In this type the outer circle contains, in English lettering, the words “Dak Jammu” (or Post of Jammu) and the inner one in Persian mohr dak Jammun or “Seal of the Post of Jammu.” This is the earliest cancellation to combine English and native characters. In spite of its “postmark” form, it is an obliteration, pure and simple. Usually in watercolour, it was forged in oilcolour for cancelling some of the circular official forgeries.

Type 34 (1887-1890). Similar to Type 29, but considerably larger, the diameter of the circle being 28 instead of 23 mm. Both types are commonly found on the same cover. Masson believed that it was issued for some new post office opened in 1887, but he did not obtain translations of the post-towns of these types. We have also not made the attempt; partly because, as none of the types show the year, the periods at which the different post offices came into existence would not be disclosed; and partly, also, because we are in a position to show a very complete list of all post offices in Jammu-Kashmir which were (or had been) in existence up to the closing of the posts. [Copyist’s note: This is a Kashmir marking, not a Jammu, and so properly belongs to the preceding section. The Dogri blob at the top reads “Srinagar.”]

Type 35 (1886-90). This was a special type of obliterator issued to some of the subordinate Jammu Post offices in January 1886. The minim character is repeated, and the general appearance of the type resembles that of the early obliterators of the Kashmir province, from which it may always be separated at once through having a containing frame-line. Impressions were normally in black and, very infrequently, in watercolour. Rare instances of impressions in a rose-mauve are also known.

Type 36 (1888-91). We refer to this as the “nine-bar obliteration,” and it was issued to at least four different offices with the central symbol different for each. One of these superseded the worn-out barred-minim obliterator (Type 30) of Jammu City about June 1888. It is very necessary to note that the latter was composed of twelve bars, for the distinction is frequently of great importance in classifying from indistinct impressions of which the central character cannot be deciphered. Of the three remaining characters of Type 36, two resemble the numerals 2 and 3 respectively, the fourth being in the shape of a fish-hook with a short bar across the top of the shank. The last named is described from an illustration in Masson’s book, but we know of no actual example.

Type 37 (1888-90). This is a ten-bar type, having an ill-defined central space without any engraved character. It is only known in black, and watercolour was employed almost as frequently as insoluble ink. It was the last-issued of all the special obliterators and is only of importance owing to the ease with which it can be mistaken for the barred-minim of 1879 (Type 30). It is not known in company with the 3-circle postmarks and, therefore, probably became obsolete before December 1890 and, almost certainly, before Type 36 was withdrawn.

British Offices in Kashmir (2nd Period)

Type 38 (1880-91). In July 1880 the normal “large barred-L” obliterator was issued to Srinagar and continued, in company with various postmarks up to March 1891. Owing to its long life, it is the commonest of all Kashmir cancellations. Considerable care is needed in order to distinguish it from other similar obliterations.

Type 39 (1880-83). This postmark was issued with the large barred-L, but only continued until 1883. The type is very similar to Type 6, but the letters are without a stop and measure 18 mm only. The year was not shown.

Type 40 (1884-90). In 1883-84 the British post offices resumed the previous practice of year-dating their postmarks, and Type 40 was consequently issue. The lettering of Kashmir is still smaller [than type 39] measuring 17 mm only. [The second image] shows a curious error of spelling—DFC for DEC. This error, which commenced in 1886, was repeated in every subsequent year until December 1890, inclusive.

Type 41 (1886-89). In or before November 1886, a new type of postmark appeared (still in company with the barred-L obliterator) with the word in a curve, instead of straight as previously. It was very sparingly employed in each subsequent year until 1889 inclusive, and examples are somewhat rare. No reason can be assigned for its introduction, since Type 40 was in common use during the whole of its period. Its scarcity would indicate that it was reserved for some special purpose; or it may be that a branch office had been opened at Srinagar, as had, in fact, occurred, at about this period, at the British post office at Sialkot, as we shall show later.

Type[s] 42 and 43 (1889-90). In about May 1889, Type 41 was superseded by three others of similar type but smaller. One of these showed “1st delivery” and “2nd delivery” and [Type 43] for registration. None of these appears to have been used for stamp obliteration. [Copyist’s Note: The dating range is incorrect. The 1st delivery type is known from 1886; the 2nd delivery (shown above) is June 1888, and most likely comes as early as the first. And, not to be contrary or anything, but our only example of Type 43 is used for stamp-obliteration.]

British Office at Leh (2nd Period)

It would seem remarkable that, although the British office at Leh usually declined to make use of its early L-3-3 obliterator, it should have been supplied with three further ones between 1880 and 1890. An explanation may possibly be found in our previous suggestion that the native office had practically ceased to function. Examples of Types 44-47 following are so rare as to indicate that as little use was made of them as had been the case of their predecessor.

Type 44 for registration. [Type 44] (1880-83) is the least rare of the three types [44,45,46] known, and we have several examples on dated covers. It probably commenced in 1880 or 1881, and it occurs on the ¼a brown, which was not issued until 1883.

Types 45 and 46. The only two examples known to us of Type 45 (1886) are on covers dated, respectively, 06 and 16 August 1886. Both covers also show the Leh postmark that follows (Type 47) and in both cases the Imperial stamp is cancelled with a postmark of Kullu, which is a town in Kangra Valley, British India. Of Type 46 (1890), at present a single example only appears to be known. This is also in company with the postmark of the following type, and dated 17 August 1890.

Type 47 (1884-90). This is like Type 8, with smaller lettering and year-date added. It is the only Leh cancellation which is not more or less rare, and was used with increasing frequency from 1884 until superseded in December 1890 by the 3-circle postmark.

British Office at Sialkot (2nd Period)

Type 48 (1887-91). This Sialkot type somewhat resembles others issued to Srinagar and Leh. We refer to it as the “small barred-L” owing to its much smaller size. It seems to have appeared about the middle of 1887 and did not, therefore, supersede the L-3 obliterator (Type 19) of which we find no trace after 1880. From 1880 to 1886, Sialkot seems to have dispensed with a special obliterator and to have depended on its postmarks for cancellation. Type 48 is often to be found on New Rectangular stamps but, more frequently, on those of British India.

Types 49 (1884-90). In 1884 Sialkot issued, coincidently with the resumption of year-dating, this small form of postmark, which remained in use until 1890, when it was superseded by Type 50.

Type 51 and 52 (1886-90). During this period, two further postmarks of large size were introduced, and did duty concurrently with the small types. Type 51 [left] has narrow lettering. Type 52 [right] has broader lettering. Both are frequently found on the same cover.

Types 53, 54, 55 (1894). As in the cases of Srinagar and Jammu, a small crop of new postmarks appeared from Sialkot shortly before the closing of the native posts.

Miscellaneous Markings

[Section omitted; the authors give an incomplete sampling of registration, postage due, transit, and branch office types. A tabular list of their offering follows. Some of the dating is outdated.]

Transit Seal and Too-Late Seal, Sialkot ca. 1878. Registration Seal ca. 1888.

Type 64. Registration Seal 1871-1886.

The Third Period 1890-94

In December 1890, the use of special obliterators was discontinued by both native and British post offices, all of which received new postmarks of uniform type. These are known as the “3-circle” postmarks and were invariably used for cancelling the stamps. The type is composed of three concentric circles enclosing details of the names of the post-towns with day, month and year in a combination of English and native characters. The year was, again, frequently omitted by many offices, through negligence or indifference. These postmarks remained in use until the closing of the native posts in November 1894 supplemented, mainly during the last two years, by others of different types. All postmarks of this period were impressed in black, insoluble printers’ ink, with rare exceptions that will be noted in the list of cancellations.

Type 77 for Jammu (and a similar Type 78 for Srinagar) show the normal forms of the 3-circle postmarks. The lettering is small and the year (1891) is given. The year-dates, however, were frequently omitted by many offices, and by nearly all during 1893-94. The post office of Udhampur evidenced its dislike to year dating by immediately filling the year-space with a permanent piece of type producing oblong-rectangular impressions in the printing.

Type 79. In 1892 Jammu and Srinagar each issued two further postmarks. In these the ornament at the bottom of the outer circle was replaced by the letters PAR for parcels and ...

Type 80. REG for registration. The lettering of these four postmarks was larger than normal, and a new spelling SIRINAGAR was adopted. It has to be noted that none of these four types received mention in the Masson collection, where very few even occurred. Masson, however, noted in his book that 4a and 8a stamps of 1883-94 were rare except when used for fiscal purposes; and in doing so undoubtedly overlooked the fact, as proved by these purely postal marks, that large quantities of the higher-values were being postally used in prepayment of the high charges for parcels and registration. All became obsolete, and were replaced by fresh types before the closing of the posts.

Types 81. Other types differ from normal forms in having the date [if any] in the central circle, and also in having few or no native inscriptions. A Kathua postmark, which was issued to a (presumably) normal post office, is the only one which we have seen.

Type 82. This type refers to a Check Office, the nature and functions of which we have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to discover. Some years ago we obtained nine large blocks of various New Rectangular stamps, all postmarked by this office and all showing the same date, 18 Ap 92. The then owner assured us that these were not stamps cancelled-to-order, but had been used on a large consignment of parcels sent to him when resding in Kashmir. All the stamps are on parcel-forms printed at the back. In seven cases the inscriptions are in native characters, the top one reading, by translation: “Receipt for the parcel which should be given to the sender.” This only appeared in one instance and its detachment would have also entailed the removal of a number of stamps on the reverse side. The remaining two cases show parcel-post instructions in English. In several instances blocks of stamps all with the same Check Office postmark, occur on both sides of the form; and in others, where stamps are on one side only, the reverse shows 3-circle postmarks of Jammu, Srinagar, and Hasora, all of which show a variety of dates in June 1892, some two months later than those of the Check Office.

Type 83. The inscription apparently reads “Camp Post Office,” and probably emanated from a travelling post office attached to one of the officials on tour—possibly the Commissioner or Settlement Officer. These officials tour through their provinces each year. We have only seen a single example of this type, and this shows a portion of the postmark only.

The only known exceptions to the rule that all 3-circle postmarks were printed in black insoluble printer’s ink are those of Gulmarg, Leh, and Lar. At these three offices, impressions were occasionally struck in watercolour—at Leh and Gulmarg in black and at Lar in blue, as well as in black.

In concluding our remarks on these 3-circle types, we have to admit having failed to trace their issue definitely to any British post office. They were issued to Srinagar, Jammu, and Leh, but the issue was, presumably, to the native offices only in these towns. Srinagar and Jammu, at any rate, issued a number of other types of postmark during the unified period; and as these are in English only, we assume that the latter are British office types. As regards Leh, however, we have no record of any of the latter types having been issued between 1890 and 1894. [Copyist’s note: The sections “Post Office Instruction Labels” a “List of Post Offices,” which appeared here in the the book, are moved to the Appendices.]

Special Postmarks (3rd Period)

Type 84. A 2-circle Bhadarwah postmark is known with dates range from May 1892 to July 1893. The town, which is a small one in the Jammu province, was not included in an official list of post-towns that we recently received from India. No 3-circle postmark had previously been alloted to this office, and the reason for a special type is unknown. The difficulties of transmission from Bhadarwah seem to have been exceptional, letters to or from Jammu usually occupying from four to six days in reaching their destination. [Copyist’s note: The example shown above is 08 September 1891.]

Types 85 and 86 of the Jammu station of Tavi are interesting in being composed exclusively in English, although the Jammu province contained no British post office. Their employment seems to have been limited to a brief period following January 1891. From now onwards, until the closing of the native posts, all new types of postmarks are in English only.

Type 87 is the “Tavi” Type 86 modified for Srinagar and issued in 1891. They were in use until 1893, while the normal 3-circle types were also being employed. Our illustration of Type 87 date SE-4-91 shows a postmark of which collectors should beware. The postmark with this particular date was used to ‘cancel’, not only some of the State remainders, but also some of the reprints of both circular stamps and of the Kashmir old rectangulars. Apart from this the postmark was genuinely employed perhaps in 1891 and certainly during 1892 and 1893. This type was also issued to Bara Mula in or before July 1892.

Type 88. We have seldom seen the Jammu postmark used to obliterate a native stamp, and an illustration in Masson’s book appears, judging from the original in his collection, to be one of a stamp from the remainder stock specially obliterated for illustrating purposes. Its occurence on undoubtedly original covers leaves, however, no doubt that it was used for some legitimate purpose, even if not for stamp-cancellation. [Scan taken from plate XI in Masson’s Handbook Part II (1901).]

Types 89. This curious postmark is the only one of Jammu-Kashmir in which white lettering appears on a dark background. The subject of our illustration (taken from Masson’s book owing to the impossibility of finding a sufficiently clear impression elsewhere) is of a type which we have not seen in use. The normal type shows the names of various post offices in a curve at the top of an intermediate circle, the central one showing native characters. Such postmarks were chiefly used during the first half of 1891, and, among them we have found the following post-towns: Jammu, Srinagar, Anant Nag, Basohli, Jasmergarh, Jasrota, and Kathua, those of Jasrota being sometimes in violet as well as in black. It was suggested by Masson that these types were produced by emergency printings from seals which were normally employed for sealing the mail bags. The Jammu obliterator of this type was used by postal officials for cancelling official [i.e., the “missing-die”] forgeries of circular and old rectangular stamps, and also some remainders of the new rectangular ⅛a yellow.

Type 90. [Scan taken from plate XI in Masson’s Handbook Part II (1901).]

Type 91. [Copyist’s note: Rare type with RESIDENCY JAMMU for the British Residency in that province and of which the authors had not seen an example, their knowledge of it deriving from the example on plate XI in Masson’s 1901 Handbook Part II. Whence this image as well.]

Towards the close of 1893 and during 1894, Jammu and Srinagar both issued a fresh series of large-type postmarks. No philatelic problems depend on them for solution [and they] illustrate the growth of the native postal system from its modest beginnings. These dated October 1894 were the latest to be issued before the closing of the posts a month later.

[Copyist’s note: Shown here is a 4a black on the thin laid paper SGO16 cancelled with the late type shown in the collector’s drawing next to it. Detail from the “Kashmir Blue” Sale KB381.]

Types 92-95 with variations for parcels, registration, and for showing different deliveries.

Types 96 and 97 [with inscriptions Banhal Jummu and Gilgit] have been found on New Rectangular stamps and are chiefly of interest from the fact that the dates upon them are after the native stamps became obsolete.

Type 98. [No image, with regrets.] It was freely applied—probably by postal officials—to the circular missing die forgeries and also, to a smaller extent, to genuine ⅛a and ¼a stamps that formed part of the New Rectangulars in the remainder stock.

Type 99. This [very large rectangular seal filled with Persian inscription] was probably employed for fiscal purposes only, as was a second of similar appearance but somewhat smaller. All such impressions seen by us have been in black watercolour.

Type 100. This type is also very doubtfully a postal one. We have only seen it on New Rectangular stamps which had, almost certainly, formed part of the remainder-stock. We have not seen an impression sufficiently distinct to enable us to read the native characters. [Copyist’s note: The impression is in mirror-reversed form and carries the hijra year 1293 ~ 1876, i.e., dating from before the advent of the New Rectangulars.]

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